In an attempt to nurture the start-up ecosystem in India, the Start-up Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) of Kanpur IIT has signed an agreement with Korea Start-up Forum in the COMEUP Start-Up Festival organised in Seoul. 

SIIC claims to be one of the oldest and most acclaimed incubators working in India. Sources said, till now it has backed 100 start-ups from versatile domains across the country. 

The agreement was signed between Nikhil Agarwal, CEO of SIIC-IIT Kanpur and  Sungjin Choi, CEO of Korea Start-Up Forum. 

The collaboration is expected to benefit both parties. Korean start-ups will get the opportunity to access the Indian markets. Additionally, they will benefit from co-incubation and technology exchange. 

On the other hand, Indian start-ups will also receive innovative Korean technology solutions in order to develop products for global markets. 

Talking about the agreement, Nikhil Agarwal, CEO of SIIC Kanpur IIT, said “Large Korean firms such as Hyundai, LG, and Samsung have a significant presence in India; our long association can potentially benefit the Korean and Indian startups in form of tech exchange, investments, and collaboration. Such collaborations will only strengthen our ties.”

On the other hand, Sungjin Choi, CEO of Korea Start-Up Forum, expressed his joy over this collaboration, he said, “India is a hometown of qualified talents. I believe a lot of Indian talents will get a chance to work with promising startups carrying great growth potential. Also, many Indian startups can penetrate the Korean market to access venture capital as well as build various business collaborations with big corporations.”

In India, late-stage start-ups are struggling to get investment at a proper valuation. Experts are already calling the situation ‘funding winter’. The collaboration is expected to work on problems like these.